No Need To Say Goodbye
by The Needless Lobsters
Summary: When Kelly's talent show happens just one night before Gibbs gets deployed, what does she do to make his day? Songfic-ish! Enjoy it!


**Hello, my fanfiction readers! I've got a new one-shot for you! And no, I'm not abandoning the other fanfics I'm writing - this one was written in my actual notebook, and I've only recently had the chance to write it up. I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>"Kelly! Are you ready?"<p>

"Yeah, mom!" Kelly looked at herself in the floor-length mirror one more time. Her brunette hair had been left to hang past her shoulders, and she was wearing a white and pink blouse with a pink skirt, white tights, and pink flats. She smiled as her light pink lip gloss glinted in the light, and picked up her sheet music before leaving her bedroom. She found her mother standing outside her door.

Shannon smiled. "Princess, you look beautiful!"

Kelly smiled. "Really, mommy?"

Shannon nodded. "Now go and sit on the couch whilst I get daddy, alright?"

Kelly nodded and skipped down the stairs into the living room.

Shannon sighed as she walked down the corridor to hers and her husband's shared bedroom. She knocked on the door. "Jethro?" When she didn't hear a reply, she knocked again. "Jethro?" She sighed. _He was in that goddamn basement __**again**__._ She quickly jogged down the stairs to the ground floor before storming to the basement door. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs! What are you doing in the basement?"

"Building," came the short answer from beyond the door.

Shannon opened the door and stormed down the stairs. "Jethro…"

A man, probably in his thirties, with dark hair and blue eyes, stood by a work table, sanding a small wooden doll house. He looked up at the redhead as soon as he heard his name. "Yeah, Shannon?"

Shannon folded her arms across her chest. "Why aren't you ready?"

Jethro frowned. "Ready for what?"

Shannon glared at him. "Kelly's talent show is tonight!"

Jethro hugged her. "Of course, of course…"

"You forgot, didn't you?" Shannon mumbled into his shoulder.

"No, I remembered," Jethro argued.

"When?"

"Just now."

Shannon rolled her eyes and hit her husband lightly on the arm. "How could you forget, Jethro?"

"There was nothing there to remind me!" he argued.

"There were post-it notes on the fridge."

"I don't look at those when I'm hungry."

"I circled the date on the calendar."

"I don't look on the calendar. That's your job."

"It's been in your diary for weeks."

He had nothing to answer to that.

Shannon folded her arms again as she pulled away from Jethro. "You've lost your diary again, haven't you?"

Jethro shrugged. "Somebody thought it was a good idea to use it for sniper practice. Whilst I was reading it. My arm was nearly shot off!"

Shannon shook her head. "Those snipers…" She turned back to Jethro. "You still have to get ready for tonight."

"Shannon, I'm being deployed tomorrow. I need to get my stuff packed."

Shannon pouted. "For Kelly?"

Jethro tried to look away. She knew he would melt at that pout, and he would do anything for Kelly. _Why did she have to be so persistent?_ He sighed. He'd already melted. "Fine. What do I wear?"

Shannon smiled as she unfolded her arms. "Wear one of you nice shirts, and make sure you wear your belt with you jeans—"

Jethro frowned. "Why, so other women don't see my sexy ass?"

Shannon smirked. "Only _I_ deserve to see your sexy ass."

Jethro smirked. "Jealous?"

Shannon rolled her eyes at him. "Just go and get dressed."

Jethro nodded and pecked her on the lips before heading up the stairs taking them two at a time.

As soon as she'd thought he'd left, she walked over to the doll house. It was still a little rough around the edges, but otherwise it was pretty much done. She ran her hand over the little wooden roof.

"Daddy said that was my goodbye present."

Shannon turned to see Kelly standing at the top of the stairs. She frowned. "Kelly, didn't I tell you to stay in the living room?"

Kelly shook her head. "No, you told me to stay on the couch, but I disobeyed that too."

Shannon nearly groaned. She was becoming a smart-ass like her father.

"Besides, when I heard daddy come up, I started wondering why you didn't come up too," the girl admitted innocently.

Shannon smiled. "Well, I'll be up in a sec, Kelly." She put on a mock-stern face. "Now go back up before daddy starts wondering where we are."

"Don't worry – daddy's already found you." Jethro stood at the top of the staircase, behind Kelly, smiling. He was wearing a casual blue shirt with a casual blue jacket on top. With those, he wore his good jeans and his good pair of shoes… the only good pair he had left.

Shannon gave a low whistle. "You clean up good, marine."

Jethro rolled his eyes at her. "I thought Kelly had that show tonight?"

"You mean my talent show?" Kelly asked.

Jethro nodded. "Yeah, that."

Shannon stepped away from the work bench and the doll house. "Let's go then."

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><p>Jethro smiled as he walked towards the elementary school with his wife beside him and his daughter just in front. Kids could be seen everywhere across the school parking lot, some with and some without their parents. All of them looked excited in little fancy outfits as the bounded toward the entrance.<p>

"Come on, daddy!" Kelly grabbed Jethro's hand and dragged him towards the entrance, causing him to instinctively grab Shannon's hand and tow her along with them.

Shannon was laughing by the time they'd reached the entrance. "I've never seen Kelly drag you along like that, Jethro!"

Jethro huffed. "And it's never happening again."

Kelly stopped in front of them and turned to face them. "Alright, mommy and daddy, I have to go to the music room backstage now. You go into the hall and find somewhere to sit, okay?"

Shannon and Jethro nodded, mostly because Kelly was quite intimidating when she was in 'teacher mode' – although Jethro would never admit that.

Kelly clapped her hands twice with glee. "Good!" She skipped off down a corridor to the left.

Shannon shook her head. "That girl…"

Jethro smiled. "She gets that from you."

Shannon glared half-heartedly at him. "Let's go and find a seat, shall we?"

Jethro nodded. "Ladies first."

Shannon swatted him on the arm. "Shut up."

Jethro snorted as she walked into the hall first anyway. Shannon sent him a glare that shut him straight up.

Not long after getting into the hall, the couple managed to find seats two rows from the front, right near the middle, which had a good view of the stage. They sighed and sat patiently.

"Shannon?"

Shannon turned to see one of the other mothers smiling at her. She smiled back.

"Hey! How are you?"

Jethro rolled his eyes. He really didn't feel like being stuck in a mother's meeting.

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><p>Kelly walked nervously into the music, despite how confident she'd appeared in front of her parents just minutes ago. Kids of various ages, most of them older than Kelly herself, were standing and sitting in the room talking and practicing their acts for the talent show. Kelly's eyes scanned the room for one particular person, and she smiled when she spotted the person she was looking for.<p>

A boy around the age of ten sat by the piano at the back of the room, seemingly practicing a song on the piano. He had dark hair and green eyes, and wore a light blue shirt with a pair of dark trousers and black shoes. Kelly skipped up to the boy.

"Hi Jake!"

The boy looked up at her and smiled. "Hey, Kelly." He turned away from the piano to face her. "You ready?"

Kelly nodded eagerly. "Yup!"

Jake noticed something in Kelly's hand. "Hey, what's that?"

Kelly showed him the sheet music. "It's the sheet music for the song I wanna sing."

Jake frowned. "I though you'd already picked the song?"

Kelly's face fell a little. "Well, my daddy's leaving tomorrow and… I wanna sing this song for him."

Jake's eyebrows rose. "You sure, Kelly?"

Kelly nodded. "Yes, Jake."

Jake took the sheet music from her and looked over it. He smiled. "I know this song. My mom used to play it to me before she was deployed. It shouldn't be too hard for me to play."

Kelly's smile was hopeful. "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

The door that linked the music room to the stage opened, and a blonde-haired blue-eyed teacher stood in the doorway, smiling. "Right, kids. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" came the loud reply from all about forty of the kids.

The teacher smiled. "Right, first up, Eleanor Stewart!"

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><p>The whole hall went quiet as the lights dimmed. Spotlights shining on the stage brightened, and the red velvet curtains stayed closed as a teacher walked onto the stage. She had long dark hair and bright blue eyes with fair sin, and she wore a blue shirt with black trousers and black heels. She smiled as she picked up the microphone. "Good evening parents, family and friends! Welcome to our yearly talent show!"<p>

"Are you sure you didn't want to invite your mother?" Jethro whispered to Shannon as the teacher continued to speak.

"Oh please. It's as if you're asking me if I want to be fussed over all the doo-dah-day," she replied.

"That actually amuses me."

"And you'll be scrutinized."

"That doesn't."

"…so, first up, we'll have Eleanor Stewart from the fifth grade! Let's give her a round of applause!"

There was a loud applause as a young girl walked onto the stage holding a violin. She bowed briefly before holding the violin in the correct position and starting to play.

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><p>Jake placed the sheet music on the piano and set it out so that he could see every sheet. He scooted to the side of the seat so that Kelly could sit with him. Kelly joined him on the chair.<p>

"Can you play it?" she asked.

"Only if you can sing it," Jake smirked.

Kelly smiled. "Okay!"

Jake played the 'F' key.

Kelly took a deep breath. "_It started out as a feeling…_"

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><p>"Thank you, Billy, for your excellent juggling skills," the teacher said as the boy bowed and walked off the stage. The parents' applause died down not long after he left.<p>

"Alright, next up, from both the second and the fourth grade, Kelly Gibbs and Jake Howards!"

There was an applause as Kelly and Jake walked onto the stage, and they bowed before moving to their respective positions. Jake took his seat behind the piano and Kelly moved to stand by the microphone, smiling angelically at the caretaker who was lowering the stand for her. She stepped closer to the microphone when he was done.

"Um, hi there," she said quietly, although her voice was projected around the hall.

"Hi!" the parents replied.

Kelly smiled shyly. "Um, I'm gonna sing… for my daddy… because he's gonna be deployed soon…"

There was a small chorus of "aww"s in the hall.

Kelly scanned the crowd for her parents and was delighted to find them sitting not far from the stage.

"Ready, Kelly?" Jake asked.

"Yup," Kelly whispered, forgetting about the microphone as her eyes connected with her father's.

Jake played the intro, looking over at Kelly as she started to sing.

Kelly took a deep breath:

"_It started out as a feeling  
>Which then grew into a hope<br>Which then turned into a quiet thought  
>Which then turned into a quiet word<em>

_And then that word grew louder and louder_  
><em>'Til it was a battle cry<em>

_I'll come back_  
><em>When you call me<em>  
><em>No need to say goodbye…<em>"

Jethro smiled encouragingly as his daughter continued to sing for him.

"_Just because every thing's changing  
>Doesn't mean it's never been this way before<br>All you can do is try to know  
>Who your friends are as you head off to the war<em>

_Pick a star on the dark horizon_  
><em>And follow the light<em>

_You'll come back_  
><em>When it's over<em>  
><em>No need to say goodbye<em>

_You'll come back_  
><em>When it's over<em>  
><em>No need to say goodbye…<em>"

Jethro smiled at Kelly as tears started to well up in his eyes. He remembered hearing Kelly practicing the song on her piano constantly, but just hearing those words… they touched his heart. Her sweet and innocent voice…

Kelly connected eyes with her father, as if she was speaking directly to him.  
>"<em>Now, we're back to the beginning<br>It's just a feeling and no one knows yet  
>But just because they can't feel it too<br>Doesn't mean that you have to forget_

_Let your memories grow stronger and stronger_  
><em>'Til they're before your eyes<em>

_You'll come back_  
><em>When they call you<em>  
><em>No need to say goodbye<em>

_You'll come back_  
><em>When they call you<em>  
><em>No need to say goodbye…<em>" Kelly managed to blink back a few tears, although one managed to find its way onto her cheek. She smiled. "I love you daddy," she croaked as more tears spilled down her cheeks.

The whole crowd stood in applause, cheering for the second grade girl's beautiful song. Jethro stood to join in, and added a few whistles to it. Shannon cheered as loud as she could for the little girl. And if Kelly understood one thing, it was that her parents were proud.

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><p>Kelly ran up to her parents, barely managing to hold the trophy and gold medal in her arms as she did so. Jethro lifted her into the air as soon as she was within arm's reach.<p>

"Daddy!"

Shannon watched the scene and smiled.

Jethro put his daughter down. "What have you got there, Kells?"

Kelly held up the medal and the trophy. "I got a medal and a trophy, daddy. I won!"

Jethro smiled. "That's my girl."

Kelly looked up at her father. "Did you like my song, daddy?" she asked as they started to walk out of the school and make their way home.

Jethro nodded. "That was the most beautiful song I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot of songs."

Kelly giggled. "That's because you're old!"

Jethro mock-spluttered. "I'm not old!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm –"

"You two!" Shannon interrupted. Jethro pouted and Kelly smirked. Shannon just shook her head at them. "Just get in the car."

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><p>Jethro sighed as he zipped up his bag. He was ready.<p>

Today was the day he was finally being deployed for who-knows-how-long, away from his friends and – more importantly – his family. The song Kelly sang from the previous night's talent show was still in his head, the young angelic voice repeating the lines over and over in his head.

"Jethro?" Shannon knocked on the door softly before walking into the room. A sad look appeared on her face when she spotted the bag on the bed.

Jethro turned to face Shannon at the door. "Yeah, Shan?"

"Your lift's here," she said quietly.

Jethro nodded and turned to pick up his bag. "I'll be down in a sec."

Shannon nodded and was about to leave when she froze.

Jethro noticed her footsteps suddenly stop and turned to see what was wrong. "Shannon, are you –"

He was cut off by a bone-crushing hug and a pair of lips crashing his. He barely had enough time to breathe before he found himself kissing back. When they pulled apart from the kiss, Shannon laid her head on her husband's chest as her arms were wrapped around him.

"I'll miss you, Jethro," she whispered.

Jethro hugged her back. "I'll miss you too, Shannon." He kissed her hair lovingly. "But I have to go now."

Shannon nodded sadly. "I love you, Jethro," she said as he let go of her and grabbed his bag.

He pecked her on the lips as he walked past her. "I love you too, Shannon." He wasn't interrupted from his walk to the jeep until he had just reached the front door.

"Daddy?"

Jethro turned to see his little girl standing at the top of the stairs. He smiled sadly. "Yeah, Kells?"

"Are you going now?"

Jethro nodded. He dropped his bags as Kelly raced down the stairs and into his open arms. It wasn't until he felt the wetness on his shirt and the shaking against his body that he realized Kelly was crying. He rubbed her back soothingly until she had calmed down a little. When she had, he held her out at arm's length and used his hands to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"I don't want you to go, daddy," Kelly sobbed.

Jethro just rubbed her cheek with his thumb lovingly. "I know, Kelly. It's why I love you so much."

Kelly gave a watery smile. "I love you too, daddy." She frowned when she realized what he was doing. "But I don't want you to go!" She hugged him tightly around the neck.

Jethro sighed before an idea formed in his head. He rubbed her back gently.  
>"<em> Just because every thing's changing<br>Doesn't mean it's never been this way before  
>All I can do is try to know<br>Who my friends are as I head off to the war_

I'll pick a star on the dark horizon  
>And follow the light<p>

I'll come back  
>When it's over<br>No need to say goodbye…

" he kissed Kelly on the forehead as he continued to rub her back gently. "_I'll come back when it's over, no need to say goodbye._" He kissed her hair. "I love you Kelly, and I'll come back. There's no need to say goodbye."

Kelly sniffed. "I love you too, daddy."

Jethro smiled as he let go of Kelly and stood up. "I promise to come home, princess."

Kelly smiled. "I promise to be here, daddy."

Jethro smiled as he turned to exit the house. Kelly stood in the hallway and watched as her father left, not noticing her mother had also arrived until she was lifted into her arms. The mother and daughter stood at the door and watched as Jethro got into the waiting jeep. He turned just before he got into the car and blew two last kisses to his girls. The girls waved at him, and continued to wave as the jeep drove off. Kelly hugged her mother's neck.

"Mommy, is daddy gonna come back?" the little girl asked her mother as a tear ran down her cheek.

Shannon wiped the tear from the little girl's cheek. "Of course he is, honey." She kissed her cheek. "Because he loves you too much."

Kelly smiled, and continued to hug her mother's neck as she was carried inside.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked this one-shot. Review and tell me what you think about it!<strong>


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